Birthmarks and Bruises

Sweet, Sweet Banter

It hadn't been long enough for the trio to savour the brief moment of warmth before the buck bolted, snorting a cloud of hot mist from its velvet snout. Marcus sighed, smiling sadly at his brother who's lip wobbled a little. Felix had honestly become sick of hearing the cries of his companions, but seeing Daniel succumb to real tears (of which weren't just tears of frustration) was almost relieving. Not in a sadistically satisfied sort of way, but both boys could tell he'd needed to weep for a long time. This way, at least, maybe his anger could subside for a second and he could emote freely.

Andrea shielded her eyes with a cupped hand, squinting across the park. The boys were on the other side of the field somewhere. Felix had said they wanted some time alone and the girls didn't object.
"They better be back soon or we'll have to bury ourselves in the sand pit for protection." Maxine muttered. Andrea laughed, shoving her hands back into the makeshift mittens she'd twisted from her borrowed scarf. It was the best she could do against the crisp autumn air, considering her hoodie was now blood soaked and six foot under.
"Sarcasm? From you?" She jeered with a grin. "I didn't think you were capable of that."
The taller girl pulled a pretend frown, pulling a pair of gloves from her coat pocket and tossing them at Andrea.
"The more you know. Keep the scarf around your neck, though."
Andrea obliged, rearranging her clothing.
"Does this fit your requirements?"
"It'll do."
She brought her now gloved hands up to her mouth, blowing a spurt of hot air into the palms and rubbing them. It was cold, even for autumn- and standing still for almost half an hour had her shivering violently. Maxine chuckled slightly.
"Ah, there seems to be a stick-like blob sandwiched between two more blobs progressing towards us."
"What?"
"The boys."
Felix was practically skipping on tip-toes through the field, hands stuffed in his pockets with Daniel and Marcus struggling to keep up. Andrea let out a mental sigh of relief. Everyone seemed to be just a little bit less stressed.
The redhead had reached them in a matter of seconds, a tired Daniel now hoisted up onto his shoulders and making smug faces at his brother below.
"Hello again Maxine. Did I mention your hair looks really lovely when it's practically a grease trap?" Felix cooed.
"Shut your proportionally inaccurate mouth. You look like a retarded stick insect." Maxine snapped back, running her fingers through the short strands of her hair. "It's called 'oily' and it's a good look."
Andrea stood between them, sticking her arms out dramatically as if to create a meat shield between the two.
"Ladies, ladies."
"Glad to see you're back to normal, though." Daniel added, nodding at Felix- who agreed, feeling another rush of admiration towards his best friend. Even through tough shit, he was able to feel pride for other people's recoveries rather than only dwelling on his own losses. Between emotional outbursts, anyway.
"Is your rib getting better Felix?" Andrea asked, impressed at his agility.
"I mean, I think so." He replied, pressing lightly on the damaged bone. "Exercising it seems to help a bit anyway." He beamed, once again taking his role as the light-beacon and owning it.
"Don't you think we should find somewhere to stay before it gets dark, though?" He questioned.
"Don't you think I already figured that out?" Maxine huffed, sticking a thumb in the general direction of a battered looking building. "There's actually decent locks in this one, and I checked it through. There's even a bathroom for the little shit." She added, glaring deliberately at Felix. He responded to her remark with a single finger.
Andrea cut in. "Aaaand there's separate rooms for privacy purposes so-" she gently lead Maxine a few steps away from Felix. "There will hopefully be no more arguments, right, you two?" She spoke through gritted teeth. Felix smiled pleasantly, bowing his head.
"Of course, my good friend. I will try my best to not disturb the dragon." He exclaimed in a deep, old-timey British accent. Maxine grumbled something unintelligible.

"Well, home sweet home. For a couple of days." Andrea announced, swinging the door open. It seemed to be another changing room, or- rooms, specifically for the sportsmen who played on the neighbouring field.
"A couple of days..?" Marcus mumbled, picking up a splintered cricket bat before discarding it with disinterest.
"Well, yeah. We'll always have to keep moving." Andrea answered. She blew another breath of hot air into her hands, locking the door and sliding a cage of sports equipment in front of it.
She wiped her brow. "Any other exits need covering?" Andrea met Marcus' eyes with raised brows. "What?"
"Why are you so..."
Andrea blinked at him blankly as Marcus struggled to find the word.
"It's just as if everyone's losing their 'human'." He mumbled, almost guilty about this himself.
"What the hell do you mean? I'm just checking we're safe." Andrea retorted, going back to her job of securing the area.
"Maybe it's better that way." Felix shrugged, pulling the sweater off over his head. "Is there any food left? I haven't eaten in days."

Maxine emptied the measly supply of food from the rucksack. A few bagged foods spilled out, two cans of soup rolling out behind them.
"Anyone fancy cold soup?" Felix called out behind him, snatching up what little they had before Maxine could. The redhead inspected the sell-by dates to double check.
"I mean... they're edible, but-" Andrea grimaced. "We didn't really think this through either, huh?"
"I don't know. I saw it in a game once and they were fine." Felix replied, tossing the can back towards his oily-haired companion.
"A fucking game?"
"It was realistic, Daniel."

Though, nothing is realistic anymore.

Daniel huffed in frustration. "I don't care. We still have barely anything." His tone softened for a moment. "And I don't even know what sounds from outside are real or my paranoia." Daniel stumbled on unsteady feet, clearly fatigued both physically and mentally. "I just want everything to be okay again."